Pope's video against death penaltyIn its video Pope Francis invites us to pray for the fruits of the synodal journey in which the Church finds herself. A Synod that has to do with a true attitude of listening, for it is not in vain that synod means "walking together".
Pope Francis' words throughout the video say:
"It is about listening to each other in our diversity and opening doors to those outside the Church. It is not about collecting opinions, nor is it about making a parliament. The synod is not a survey; it is about listening to the protagonist, who is the Holy Spirit, it is about prayer. Without prayer, there will be no Synod.
What does it mean to "do synod"? It means to walk together: yes-no-do. In Greek it is that, "to walk together" and to walk in the same direction. And this is what God expects from the Church of the third millennium. That she regain the awareness that she is a people on a journey and that she must do it together.
A Church with this synodal style is a Church of listening, which knows that listening is more than hearing.
It is about listening to each other in our diversity and opening doors to those outside the Church. It is not about collecting opinions, nor about making a parliament. The synod is not a survey; it is about listening to the protagonist, who is the Holy Spirit, it is about prayer. Without prayer, there will be no Synod.
Let us take advantage of this opportunity to be a Church of closeness, which is God's style, closeness. And let us thank all the people of God who, with their attentive listening, are walking a synodal path.
Let us pray that the Church, faithful to the Gospel and courageous in its proclamation, may increasingly live the synodality and be a place of solidarity, fraternity and welcome".
